ABSTRACT
In 1890, Oscar Wilde was at the height of his social powers. His brand dominated English society, and the acclaim he enjoyed appeared to make him feel that he could say or do almost anything. He put that assumption to the test when he wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, for it articulated the strongest challenge he would make in his writing to the views of the world he inhabited. A contemporary reader will see much in Lord Henry's views and in Dorian's behavior that anticipates the postmodern vision that would emerge a half-century later. In his introduction, to Dorian and the reader, of his theory of New Hedonism, Lord Henry cleverly develops the concept of materialism by using aphorisms to meliorate the hardnosed outline of his sense of reality. Dorian's view of morality has a paradoxical leaning that lies somewhere between Harry's dismissal and Basil Hallward's unsuccessful efforts to balance artistic sensuality and naive piety.
